Local Musts - Changi Recommends

Must Eat

Must Do

Must Go

Singaporean's greatest love? Food. That's why our local delights are world famous and since you're here, you must try them all. Here are the top 10 Must-Eats when visiting Singapore:

1. Chicken Rice

Chicken stock flavoured rice, served with tender pieces of chicken marinated in soy sauce. Eat it with tender pieces of chicken marinated in soy sauce. Eat it with chilli sauce and pounded ginger to spice your meal.

2. Chilli Crabs

Don’t leave Singapore without tasting our crabs. And not just chilli crabs but crabs from all around the world cooked in a myriad of ways! Our favourite is still the giant Sri Lankan Crab.

3. Hokkien Mee

A combination of yellow noodles and thick been hoon (rice vermicelli) in a fragrant stock made from fresh shrimp, dried prawns as well as pork or chicken. It tastes better with sliced red chilli, light soy sauce and sambal.

4. Char Kway Teow

Flat rice noodles stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, a small quantitiy of belachan, whole prawns, deshelled cockles, bean sprouts and chopped Chinese chives. The oiler it is, the better it tastes.

5. Bak Kut Teh

This literally means "meat bone tea". Think meaty pork ribs simmered in a nutritious broth of herbs and spices for hours. Eat it with rice and dip youtiao (strips of fried dough) into the soup for the complete experience.

6. Zi Char

A Chinese stall (in a food court) that serves a variety of a la carte dishes at affordable prices. It’s a great way to sample Chinese cooking. Here’s what they usually serve: meat items – pork, ribs, har cheong gai; vegetables – sambal kangkong, kalian, side dishes – beancurd, noodles, rice; and seafood – prawn, fish, crabs.

7. Laksa

A Peranakan (Malay-Chinese) spicy coconut-based curry noodle soup. The main ingredients include bean curd puffts, fish sticks, shrimp and cockles. Our favourite is the signature Katong Laksa, which has become a household name in Singapore.

8. Satay

Succulent skewers of marinated meat (choice of chicken, beef, pork & mutton) grilled over the charcoal fire. Dip it in sweet peanut sauce and make it a full meal with special rice cakes (ketupat) wrapped in pandan leaves.

9. Dim Sum

Dim sum is a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions. It’s traditionally served in small bamboo baskets or on small plates. Look out for the Dim sum carts in the restaurants, they’ll come to your table for you to pick your piping hot dishes.

10. Kopi & Kaya Toast

For a typical Singaporean breakfast, it doesn’t get better than a cup of Kopi with Kaya Toast and two soft-boiled eggs drizzled with dark soy sauce! Kaya is a spread of eggs, sugar and coconut milk and flavored with pandan on toasted or fresh bread.

1. Night Safari/Zoo

Ideal for animal lovers, visitors can opt to visit the Singapore Zoo during the day or Night Safari for an alternative experience at night.
Set in a rainforest environment, Singapore Zoo's world famous "open concept” offers the opportunity to experience and be inspired by the wonders of nature.
Opened in 1994, Night Safari is the world's first safari park for nocturnal animals.

2. Night Life

If you only have time for one club in Singapore, then it simply has to be Zouk. Probably Singapore’s only nightspot of international repute, Zouk remains both an institution and a rite of passage for young people in the city-state.
Clarke Quay, Singapore’s choice dining and entertainment destination, is a colourful kaleidoscope of buildings housing antiques, restaurants, hip cafes, jazz clubs and more. At night, the entire zone is a sight to behold with all five blocks of restored warehouses lit up and beamed with an array of quirky alternative to mainstream clubs. With an international presence in terms of partying options, this is a convergence point for people around the world to celebrate.
Clarke Quay offers an integrated venue option for everyone: the party is not always confined to the buildings alone. The fountain which grooves to the mood of the night also attracts numerous pub goers.

3. Wavehouse

70,000 square feet beachfront venue that offers surfing enthusiasts the ultimate wave-riding experience with 10ft barrelling waves – first of its kind in Asia.
From body-boarding to stand-up rides at the Double Flow Rider and the popular ultimate FlowBarrel, flowriding is an adrenaline rush for beginners and professional riders alike.
DAILY 1-FOR-1 SPECIALS but especially on Wednesdays, all wave rides, food and drinks.
Remember to bring photo ID for first-timers.

4. Chinatown Heritage Centre

The Chinatown Heritage Centre is the only place in Singapore that has recreated the original interiors of its shop house tenants in the 1950s, offering visitors an honest, revealing glimpse into the lives of Chinatown's early residents.

5. Singapore Botanic Gardens

74 hectare botanical garden in Singapore.
The Botanic Gardens is a beautifully landscaped and kept garden with a stupendous variety of flowering, non-flowering plants, birds and insects.

6. Dempsey

It boasts a hip cluster of wining and dining establishments, set amid quiet surroundings that evoke old world charm. It offers a respite from the city, but is just a short distance from Orchard Road and, while you wouldn’t know it from the art galleries, antique furniture stores and weekend farmers markets that now call the area home, Dempsey used to be a military stronghold.
Foodie highlights include European restaurant The White Rabbit. This airy spot is housed in the former chapel of the colonial British garrison. It's a beautifully refurbished space outfitted with wrought-iron grills, stained-glass windows and sage-green banquettes. Located at the back is The Rabbit Hole bar, where you can kick back and sip cocktails.

7. Ann Siang Hill

A short stroll away from Chinatown leads the curious wanderer to a charming little area of colourful shopfronts, old window shutters and streetlamps from an era long ago. Ann Siang Hill and Club Street, once the homeground of traditional Chinese clan associations and exclusive social clubs, now hosts a variety of quirky shops, cafes and watering holes – making it the perfect place to while the day away. Besides pastry/confectionary shops, wine bars, vintage clothing outlets, retro toy stores, alfresco restaurants and the like, be mesmerised by beautiful architecture and elegantly-restored classic details that are bound to draw out the creative shutterbug in you.

8. Singapore Flyer

At a height of 165m, Singapore Flyer is the world’s largest Giant Observation Wheel and also one of Asia’s biggest tourist attractions.
It promises more than just a view, but a panorama that captures Marina Bay’s skyline with a glimpse of neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia.

9. Pulau Ubin

Go back in time to a simpler life at Pulau Ubin, the last village or “kampong” in Singapore. A visit here is like taking a time warp back to the 1960s when things were much simpler, as you’ll notice from the old wooden houses. Located off Singapore’s north east coast, the best way to get here is to take a bumboat from Changi Point Ferry Terminal.
The name Pulau Ubin means “Granite Island” in Malay, which isn’t surprising, considering the many abandoned stone quarries there are on the island. The best way to explore Pulau Ubin is to hire a bike and ride around the Island, although it remains a great place for a quiet stroll.

COMING SOON

1. Beerfest Asia

Beerfest has grown exponentially from 24 exhibitors and 200 beers in 2009 from Europe, Australia, Asia and USA to 40 stands and 300 beers in 2011, featuring beers from more countries. Unlike traditional beer festivals, Beerfest Asia embraces international lagers, ciders and there are even spirits, champagnes and wine stands. An impressive 200,000 beers were consumed in 2011. Beerfest Asia 2012 targets to have 50 new beers to the festival.

2. Chingay Parade

The Chingay Parade is a traditional Chinese New Year procession that has grown in recent years to become a massive street parade, boasting a stunning array of dancers, street floats, jugglers, percussionists, lion and dragon dancers, clowns and acrobats, among others.
In recent years, the festival has evolved with Asian and global influences, with approximately 2,000 performers from various clubs, schools and institutions gyrating to Samba music – and has given the parade a growing reputation as the Mardi Gras of the East – in a myriad of glittering, colourful costumes. Since 2000, exotic groups from various countries like Ghana, Brazil and Slovenia have also made their debut in the parade, enthralling tourists and Singaporeans, reflecting a true cosmopolitan society.

3. Zouk Out

One of the biggest outdoor beach parties in Asia, having played host to world famous DJs such as Carl Cox, Hawtin Sasha, Armin Van Buuren, and James Lavelle.
Usually held at one of the beaches on Sentosa island, it is definitely a place to be seen in. Fans from around the world will make whatever detour it takes to land in Singapore on the evening of the event, only to party from dusk till dawn.

4. Grand Prix

Formula One SingTel Singapore Grand Prix has been synonymous with an intoxicating mix of fast cars, glamorous parties, and of course, high-octane performances headlined by A-list celebrities. And that’s not all. With clubs getting into the Formula One spirit and fuelling up the scene by bringing in international DJs; some key nightspots not to be missed during Grand Prix season include Podium Lounge, Ku De Ta, St James Power Station, Avalon and many others around the Marina Bay area and around the island.

5. Deepavali

Deepavali, which literally means “row of lights,” is celebrated by Hindus across the world and is the most important festival in Hinduism.
In Singapore, the Festival of Lights, as it’s endearingly called, is a public holiday.
During Deepavali, the streets of Little India are artfully decorated and lit up in bright festive colours, transforming it with an explosion of vibrant, colourful arches and lights. Festive bazaars and numerous cultural activities such as the Indian Heritage and Craft Exhibition, Street Parade, Countdown Concert are also held. The festive stalls are decorated with wares such as fragrant flowers, garlands used during prayers, traditional oil lamps and beautiful Saris with intricate brocade patterns and glittering gems. Colourful Indian outfits, intricate costume jewellery and traditional arts and craft are also on sale. Indian delicacies can also be found in abundance during this period.

6. Great Singapore Sale

Each year, shopaholics from the region and beyond flood to these shores to get their hands on bargain buys during the Great Singapore Sale.
With prices slashed up to 70% off its original prices at the main shopping belts and in suburban shopping malls throughout Singapore, this much-anticipated annual mega sale promises nothing less than tremendous bargains on a dizzying array of items from both Singaporean and international brands.

7. Singapore Food Festival

Whether you’re a gluttonous gourmand who relishes in the intricacies of fine dining, or a regular foodie excited about tucking into Singapore's local food and regional specialities, you’ll definitely enjoy the gastronomic morsels The Singapore Food Festival has to offer in the month of July.
Debuting in 1994, this annual Singapore food festival never fails to seduce the palates and appetites of locals and visitors alike, with a calendar chockfull of mini events and activities organized all over the country.
You won’t even have to travel far and wide to satisfy your cravings for authentic traditional food from the Chinese, Malay, Indian and Peranakan cuisines, whipped up piping hot and featured in not only the city and historical enclaves, but also in almost every nook and cranny of the island state.